Enter left, Dumbledore.
The men both sighed, yet the woman only closed her eyes and nodded. Azalea frowned. She hadn’t meant to make her sad! She just wanted to say that she wouldn’t change her name from Azalea! Didn’t she convey that enough? Before Azalea knew it, words were spewing from her mouth, in a rushed mumble. “I mean– I’d love it if you did that blood adoption thingy, but I like the name Azalea and– and– and,” she was cut off by the woman rushing forward and encompassing her in a gargantuan hug.
“You’ll have to get a better wardrobe, of course, and learn to hold yourself like a Malfoy, and you’ll have to get your papers and all of that, but you’ll be my little girl! I’m sure you’ll get along with Draco, he’s my son, the boy who Lucius sent out before we offered to adopt you,” the woman gushed, holding Azalea at an arm’s length with tears in her eyes. “You’ll be the daughter I’d never had been over to have…” the woman trailed off, tears spilling over her eyelids and making soft tracks down her face.
Azalea glanced over the woman’s shoulder at the two men. The blond man had tears leaking out of his eyes, but he was making no move to acknowledge her besides a watery smile. The hook nosed man –“bat”– smirked at her, and inclined his head slightly, but made no move to help calm the crying woman before him.
The boy –Draco– raced back into the room again, his scowl immediately darkening the room. “Mom! Dumbledore is in the floo reception, he’s asking to see you!”
The woman – Mom? – growled, and pushed away from Azalea. She twirled towards the boy, who stared up at her with wide eyes. “What do you mean, Dumbledore is in the reception?”
“I mean he’s standing in our house, mom, and asking for you!” the boy almost shouted. The woman –who Azalea had decided she wouldn’t call mom until she knew her name– looked like she would shout back, before the hook nosed man butted it.
“Narcissa, he must know about her being gone from the Dursley’s because of the wards. I just don’t know how he found her here. I suggest we go ask him,” the man patted her shoulder, moving past her to stand in front of Azalea. He didn’t talk to her, just motioned for her to move closer behind him, and when she did so, covering most of her up with his black cloak. She huddled close to him, moving with him as the group of them walked out of the door. Traveling to the “floo reception” room took a rather long time that way, but she was being involved in something.
“Child,” the man murmured under his breath. “If he asks to see you, do not look into his eyes. If he does ask to look at you, think of nothing. Just white. It will confuse him somewhat.”
Azalea whispered her agreement –not that it was a question– just as they were stopping at a door.
“Draco, remember what we’ve told you. Be careful around Dumbledore, yes?” the blond man barely spared a glance at the boy before opening the door.
Azalea took note of the way everyone’s expressions and body language changed the moment they saw the man. Draco straightened his back and sneered, as did his father. Narcissa scowled at the man, but stayed by “Bat’s” side, near her. “Bat” bent his head, a sign of weakness in most, but Azalea could hear his teeth grinding.
“Ah! Severus! Just the man I was hoping to see! I need your help with something, so if you’d come along with me…” the man trailed off, his eyes sparkling like one million diamonds.
“I don’t think I shall. Cissy and Lucius are going through a rather hard time and I’d like to be here for them. Anything you have to say you can say in front of them,” the man growled, taking a step back and almost knocking Azalea off her feet.
“You know that’s not true, my boy…” the man said, a tense silence filling the air. Narcissa looked genuinely upset, and as the woman stood almost in the shadows of Severus, next to Azalea, the girl reached out and slipped her into Narcissa’s.
“Then you won’t say it at all. If you don’t mind, we were discussing something before you rudely interrupted us, headmaster,” Lucius cut off, almost snarling as he glared at the man.
“Well, if you insist that I shout it to the world…” the man trailed off, looking stressed. Severus nodded. “Well, Malfoy’s, Severus, Azalea Potter has gone missing. She’s nowhere near the wards, and I’m afraid they’re falling without her magical signature to feed off of. I need your help to find her, Severus,” the man looked like he had just swallowed a bad lemon when Narcissa growled.
“You, you monster! You had magical wards around a muggle property? With no ambient magic to feed off of, you would have been slowly weakening the savior of the wizarding war because the wards would be feeding off of her!” the woman gestured wildly with her free hand, while Azalea was trying not to gasp in pain. The woman’s grip was strong.
“Well, yes. I see no issue? She’d be fine. Even as a child, her magical core was huge. Even if half of it were to be depleted she’s have enough power to weaken Voldemort,” the man said jovially, ignorant to the horror-filled looks he was getting. “Well, alas, I must go now. Got to continue looking for the savior of the wizarding world!”